in 1999, the M/V Stuyvesant ruptured its hull
with a dredge arm during dredging operations and caused a spill
of approximately 2,000 gallons of bunker fuel oil near the entrance
of Humboldt Bay and further out to sea (http://www.dfg.ca.gov/ospr/spill/nrda/nrda_stuy.html).

In both cases, the oil dispersed along the outer coastline, mainly north of
the bay. We conducted surveys of mammals and birds in the bay and offshore for
several weeks after both events to help inform the response, beginning with
the day of each spill. This afforded us the unique opportunity to develop
new techniques for assessing the impact of oil spills on the bird community.
We have completed our
oil spill monitoring protocol, which includes methods for recording the
amount of oil on birds and on the water, building on our line transect survey
methods. We are currently working on a manuscript based on these surveys.